The Mossos d’Esquadra have arrested former President Josep Maria Bartomeu
Madrid – The Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan police, raided the offices of FC Barcelona in early March. The soccer club has been investigated since the scandal, dubbed “Barçagate” in the media, about the discrediting of unwelcome players, ex-players and other personalities from the FC Barcelona environment, became known on Twitter, Facebook and other websites. Investigative judge Alejandra Gil ordered a total of five searches that were carried out at the same time, two of them in the private apartments of the ex-president of the club and his advisor.
A year ago, in February 2020, the broadcaster Cadena Ser made the case public: FC Barcelona hired an external company called I3 Ventura to polish up the image of the club’s president at the time, Josep Maria Bartomeu. This company could be linked to accounts on the social networks through which defamatory messages were spread about FC Barcelona players, opponents in the top management and the club’s community. The invoices from I3 Ventura, which totaled almost one million euros, were six times the market price, were shredded in order to withhold them from the control commission.
Because of this scandal, the strained relationship with Barça star Lionel Messi and the dire financial situation of the club, the management wanted to overthrow President Bartomeu with a motion of censure, which he anticipated when he resigned last October.
After the house searches, ex-president Josep Maria Bartomeu and three other people close to him – Óscar Grau, a senior board member of FC Barcelona, Román Gómez Pontí, the head of the legal department, and Jaume Masferrer, the president’s advisor – were arrested and questioned brought to the Mossos d’Esquadra commissariat. Grau and Puntí were released the same evening. Bartomeu and Masferrer spent the night in the police station and were brought before Judge Gil the following day. They are accused of embezzlement and corruption among private individuals. Neither of them commented on the allegations and were released subject to conditions.
